So thankful...Emery (sorry...long)

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I came within an inch of having Emery put down. Pretty sure his swelling was from a fracture. Mud so bad couldn't do anything with him but put him in a stall and wrap with a poultice to help brace his leg. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to put a horse down, if I thought it needed to be done. Part of the problem was what to do with his body. No tractor and no way to drag it out easily and no where to put it. I don't need a dead horse on the place, even back in the woods or far back in the pasture, especially if we are going to put it up for sale, and the weather was awful. No reason to cause him to suffer though, and that played heavily on my mind too. Exactly 52 years ago, we put my first horse down due to a compound fracture of his back leg. No way to get anyone in with a backhoe, and again, it was horrible weather. So, Jody and my dad burned him, which took about 3 days, and was horrible for all concerned.

I based my decision on his demeanor...he was bright, ate great, didn't seem to be suffering. Still every day, I agonized over what to do. He was able to lay down and get back up. Every morning, I held my breath when I went to check on him. Always feeling sick and guilty in the pit of my stomach, because I like the old horse so much and I didn't want him to suffer. I didn't want to go out there and find him worse.

My vet didn't offer any encouragement but she didn't go so far that she said not to give him a chance.

The mud has never been worse here. Part of it is because we had a layer of fine silt wash in during the flood. It made it a whole lot worse and all the rain we've had since Dec. 1st, and too, Jody being unable to help me.

So he is in the barn...and he seems to be doing great. The swelling had extended up to his hip. Even his sheath was swollen. Swelling is all but gone. He puts full weight on his leg and when he turns, he pivots on it with no problem.

He will be in the stall for at least another month and probably longer. I won't take him out until the mud dries up, but it is a 12 x 12 stall. He doesn't need to be moving around a lot.

One day I was out by the road and I found a little plastic horse. It was like one that is a toy....plastic...like you would find with a set of cowboys. This horse was a bucking horse. He had his head down and his left back leg up, so he looked like he was bucking. I don't know where it came from. I probably had one like this when I was a kid, but not this one, and that was a million years ago. I thought about Emery....the leg the plastic horse had up was the same leg that Emery had injured. I brought it in and put it in the window and a votive candle on each side. Every time I looked at it, I said, "I am so thankful that Emery is getting better every day"....even tho, at that time he wasn't. I know I looked at it a hundred times a day....still do. It made me feel better to know that at least he was constantly on my mind....even more than before. I don't know if this helped, but I truly believe it did.

I am sorry this is so long. I know a lot of people have commented on Emery, and I just wanted to let them know how he is doing.

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yeonassky

6 years ago

Love to read that you are able to help Emery with the injuries. Blessings to (((((you, Jody and Emery and the rest of the horse and donkey gang))))). You are in my prayers. :-).

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Comments (33)

PKponder TX Z7B
6 years ago
Yay! Glad he is improving. He's had a tough go of it, poor fella.

I'm glad you came into his life to rescue him.

That is curious, the plastic horse with so many similarities to Emery.

I wish I could take your rain that is causing the sloppy mud that's plaguing you. We are as dry as a bone.
marilyn_c thanked PKponder TX Z7B
Sherry8aNorthAL
6 years ago
((( you and Emory)))
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nicole___
6 years ago
Poor Emery. Glad he's getting better! YAY!
marilyn_c thanked nicole___
marilyn_c
Original Author
6 years ago
I took a pic of the plastic horse....but it is on my phone and it is on the charger...too low to stay on so I could post the pic, but I will do it later.
glenda_al
6 years ago
Thank you for being so special and caring.
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aok27502
6 years ago
Emery is in the very best place he could possibly be.
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lindaohnowga
6 years ago
I am so thankful to read that Emery is doing better. Now I just pray that your weather out there improves.
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ritamay91710
6 years ago
Love reading this.
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Georgysmom
6 years ago
I hope he continues to improve and improve and improve.
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stacey_mb
6 years ago
Emery is very lucky to have such a loving and devoted caregiver. Best of luck to you and Emery for improvement.
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ladypat1
6 years ago
You are everything Emery wants and needs. Prayers for continued healing.
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marilyn_c
Original Author
6 years ago
It's called an affirmation.
greenshoekitty
6 years ago
I like to think ,you finding that toy was ment to be a sign, that things would get better. I am happy for both of you. Never worry about a long post as it is good to hear stuff.
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nickel_kg
6 years ago
Biology is weird ... you think you know what's what, and then something else happens. In this case, something good. I'm glad to hear good news for you and Emery.
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lindaohnowga
6 years ago
I too think finding that plastic horse was a sign to you that all would be well with Emery.
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mare_wbpa
6 years ago
So happy for you and Emery!!!
cooper8828
6 years ago
Darn you, Marilyn, for posting so many things that just bring tears to my eyes.
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sprtphntc7a
6 years ago
that's great news, prayers for his continued recovery !!
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lisa_fla
6 years ago
What are the chances of that toy horse showing up on your remote property? It has to be a sign. So glad Emery seems to be getting better. Hopefully he has more time to live the good life after what he’s been thru. It sure sounds like whatever it was is healing. It must have been so stressful for you. But the weather prevented making a decision right then. Maybe the mud worked in his favor.
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moonie_57 (8 NC)
6 years ago
❤
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marilyn_c
Original Author
6 years ago
We are on a curve in the bayou, and so much stuff washed straight across onto our property. I think the little toy horse did. Odd I didn't notice it until I had put Emery in the stall. It was on the road near my front gate. I think the cold weather may have helped him and probably you're right....because of the mud and once I got him in the stall, I didn't want to have to make him walk out, in order to put him down, and I didn't want him to die in the stall.
Adella Bedella
6 years ago
Emory has a good life with you. I'm happy he is doing better.
morz8 - Washington Coast
6 years ago
I'm sure you couldn't imagine a circumstance where mud could be a blessing ;0)

I'm thrilled the swelling has gone down. If he can raise and lower himself to lay down I think his recovery sounds promising, don't you? Along with the eating....and I have no doubt that you would know if he was under duress and in pain.

OK, the mud has done it's job. When will it typically dry up for you? And please, hang onto that toy. You'll never know when you might need it again and it may have just done the trick.

How's Frosty doing, coming along OK in the wet weather?
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marilyn_c
Original Author
6 years ago
Frosty is doing fine. She is very playful and runs in circles...bucking and kicking as she goes. Then she runs up to her mother or brother and rears up on them. She is eating feed and when I give them their hay, she paws it and gets it all spread out. She is getting used to me and her mama is settling down and doesn't feel the need to keep her away from me. Mama and brother are taking peppermints from my hand again.

Not sure when the mud will dry up. I just know that one way or another, I am going to be out of here before next winter.
hounds_x_two
6 years ago
Sorry for your scary time! So thankful and happy to know he is looking better!
Mrs. S
6 years ago
I'm praying for Emery. It seems like he came this far, he's got just a little farther to go, so he can enjoy his old age, with fresh water, shelter, companionship, and plentiful hay/food. I'm sure he is grateful. i guess he just got a swollen leg!

Do horses there get "scratches" from all the mud? (You know what I mean, that fungus-like stuff on the backside of the pastern, that can sometimes cause swelling......I remember it being an issue when it was muddy out....)
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wanda_va
6 years ago
I'm so glad Emery is doing better. I have a special place in my heart for Val and Emery...and for you and Jody, of course! I love your stories and pictures. Thank you for adding such special moments to my day!
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marilyn_c
Original Author
6 years ago
Mrs. S, yes, they can...fortunately, mine haven't. I've seen horses (especially those in poor condition) get "rain rot" which, but I have never had any of mine to get it., except Bane had it when I brought him home from the kill pen. The vet told me to bathe him with some medicated shampoo but when I went to bathe him, he flipped out. I decided it wasn't worth me dying over, so I didn't bathe him again. Except now he loves a bath and will come up to me if he sees me with a hose and want me to squirt water on him, but he is goofy like that.........one way one day, and another way another time. However, he was so stressed when he came here. He was definitely abused and had what I call post traumatic stress disorder. I put him in a separate pasture and gave him a donkey....Amos...and that has helped him more than anything.

When my horses were at the lady's place down the road...where they went following the flood, she remarked at how fast the mud fell off of them, when they rolled in the mud. The next day it would be all gone. She said it was because they were in such good condition and had enough oil in their coats that the mud didn't stick to them. I never thought of that, but maybe it is true because they don't stay caked in mud. They can all get out of the mud....so they aren't standing in it all the time. I'm the only one who has to wade thru the mud to get to the barn. Snoop has a stall in the back, so it isn't muddy there and he can stay back there all day and eat his hay, and visit with the fillies and Emery when he wants to.
ont_gal
6 years ago
sending long, long distance((((((((( hugs Marilyn)))))))))
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OutsidePlaying
6 years ago
Emery has the best caregiver ever in you! Glad he is better! I love your stories, trials and triumphs.
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DawnInCal
6 years ago
Wonderful news, Marilyn. I'm so glad that he's on the mend; can only imagine how relieved you must be.
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Rusty
6 years ago
Thank you for the update! It makes me happy to know Emery is doing better, and I hope and pray he will continue to heal and recuperate. Poor ol' guy, he's had the kind of life no living thing deserves. Thank the Good Lord that there is you, and hopefully others in other places like you, who do what they can to make things better. God bless you!

Rusty
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So thankful...Emery (sorry...long)

yeonassky

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